A federal judge has rejected the U.S. government's request to release a jailed former FBI informant who concocted a story alleging President Joe Biden and his son Hunter accepted bribes that has become a key element of Republican impeachment efforts.
The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Otis Wright in Los Angeles came weeks after a new prosecutor assigned to Alexander Smirnov's case filed a joint motion with his defense team seeking his release while he appeals his conviction.
In its motion, the US government indicated that it would reconsider its “theory of the case.”
In his written decision, the judge noted that Smirnov could still flee even if prosecutors filed a review of his case.
“The fact remains that Smirnov was convicted and sentenced to seventy-two months in prison, which gives him sufficient incentive to escape,” he said.
Smirnov, 44, was sentenced in January after pleading guilty to tax evasion and lying to the FBI about a fraudulent bribery scheme that previously appointed prosecutors characterized as an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
His lawyers, David Chesnoff and Richard Schoenfeld, told The Associated Press in a text message that they plan to appeal the judge's ruling and “will continue to fight for Mr. Smirnov's release.” The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles declined to comment.
Smirnov was initially prosecuted by former Justice Department special counsel David Weiss, who resigned in January, days before President Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term.
Smirnov has been in custody since February 2024, after he was arrested at a Las Vegas airport upon returning to the United States from abroad.
A US-Israeli national falsely told his FBI handler that executives at Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid then Vice President Biden and his son $5m (£3.75m) each around 2015.
The bombshell claim in 2020 came after Smirnov expressed “bias” against Mr. Biden as a presidential candidate, prosecutors said at the time. In reality, investigators found that Smirnov had only had a routine business relationship with Burisma, dating back to 2017, after Mr. Biden became vice president.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
